Miox Corp. Has Growth in Mind and a New and Bigger Space
By Richard Metcalf
Journal Staff Writer
Miox Corp., the water disinfection tech company, is moving in a matter of days into much larger digs to ramp up its production capability.
Currently in the shadow of the Century Rio 24 Theaters, the Albuquerque business will take over Envirco's former 67,000-square-foot plant at 5601 Balloon Fiesta Parkway NE.
"We will re-establish our production line to be much more efficient, cost-effective and safe— essentially value-engineering it," said president and CEO Carlos Perea. "We'll significantly expand our lab and testing capability on site."
On target for $15 million in revenue this year, Miox has grown by 50 percent since its reorganization last September under new majority ownership and new management, he said.
The forecast is for 50 percent revenue growth each year for the next few years.
Forty-three of the company's 47 employees are now crammed into 16,000 square feet at 5500 Midway Park Place NE. Employees have doubled up in offices designed for one, said Perea, and production resembles "garage shop assembly."
The new digs in the Balloon Fiesta Parkway building have 60,000 square feet of warehouse and production space, which is more than the company needs but allows plenty of room for growth, Perea said.
Envirco, which had leased the building, employed 120 people at the site in 1998 making air systems for clean rooms at computer chip plants. In 2004, the operation began scaling back as most of the jobs shifted elsewhere.
Since that time, a growing amount of square footage in the building was made available, said leasing agent Tim MacEachen, formerly of Maestas & Ward but now with Grubb & Ellis New Mexico.
About six month ago, the entire facility became available for lease and Miox took it, he said.
Miox searched the entire metro area for a new office and plant, from Rio Rancho to Mesa del Sol, the giant development getting started south of the Albuquerque International Sunport.
The company settled on Envirco's former building, in part, because it is 5 1/2 miles north of the company's present location. "It didn't have a disruptive effect on the commute for any employ-ees," Perea said.
Miox's technology uses salt, electricity and water to create a disinfecting solution for water. The solution is chlorine-based but is safer and easier than traditional chlorination.
In fact, Miox recently won a research role on a contract with the Department of Homeland Security. The idea is to find a way to eliminate the use of chlorine gas because it is a hazardous chemical and potential target for terrorists. "One of Miox's purposes is to reduce the need to transport and store hazardous chemicals," Perea said. "Chlorine is similar to the mustard gas used in World War I."
The company is also a partner in developing a pen-size portable Individual Water Purification System under a $4 million contract with the U.S. Marines.
"The Army is asking about it as well," he said. "It's presumed it will eventually make its way to the commercial market."
While government contracts have been a constant in Miox's business since it was formed in 1994, Perea said commercialization— bringing the disinfection technology to the public— is the company's mission.
The biggest market for Miox's small, mid-size and large systems is in this country: municipal water systems, hospitals, swimming pools and spas. "Our primary growth has been in delivering systems to municipal markets," he said.
There's also interest from Hong Kong, Japan, Poland and the United Kingdom.
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